News Article

Health & Fitness - 4/1/2014

West Nile Virus Early Alert!

Just in case you were thinking the freezing weather we experienced killed all the mosquitoes, think again.

Dallas County Health and Human Services says the cold weather does not kill many mosquitoes so the 2014 virus awareness campaign is starting earlier than ever. Health officials are anticipating more human cases of West Nile virus due in part to changes in the rules for diagnosing and reporting the disease. With more cases of the disease anticipated, officials will direct the amount of ground spraying and potentially trigger earlier and controversial calls for aerial spraying. DCHHS Dr. Zachary Thompson emphasizes early public awareness and education to reduce the abundance of mosquitoes which will in turn reduce the number of West Nile cases. He urges the public to be ready by mosquito-proofing themselves and their homes by following the "4D's":